EP-A 652 610 has disclosed a low-voltage (LV) incandescent lamp which is pinched at one end and uses a glass cap, in which the supply leads are bent over by 180.degree. directly on the broad sides of the pinch and bear against them. Elastic clamp contacts arranged in the socket permit two-point holding.
EP-A 668 639 likewise describes a socket for a low-voltage incandescent lamp pinched at one end and having contact springs of complicated configuration and a plurality of wedge-shaped projections on the broad sides of the pinch, the supply leads also resting on these wedge-shaped projections.
Finally, DE-A 28 10 402 has disclosed a socket for a low-voltage incandescent lamp, pinched at one end, for use with a printed circuit board, the supply leads being guided away laterally at right angles from the pinch of the lamp for the purpose of making contact on the printed circuit board.
Halogen incandescent lamps are spreading increasingly into many different spheres of life, for example into the lighting of houses and flats, in vehicles, in the industrial field etc. Their advantages are the small overall size, the increased light yield, the good color rendition, as well as the service life, which is longer by comparison with conventional incandescent lamps. For the most part, it is low-voltage halogen lamps, for example with an operating voltage of 12 V or 24 V, which are used in this case. In recent years also some medium-voltage and high-voltage halogen incandescent lamps have been appearing on the market.
Pin-type lamps having a pinch at one end are used in the case of the low-voltage halogen incandescent lamps. As holding and contact elements straight, pin-shaped supply leads project straight out of the side of the pinch averted from the lamp. The assigned sockets are consequently essentially characterized by two holding openings having integrated spring-loaded pin contacts for the pin supply leads. Because of the low operating voltage, there is no need for a safety device against touching the live parts. These lamps are very compact.
By contrast therewith, the known medium-voltage and high-voltage halogen incandescent lamps which are pinched at one end preponderantly use additional outer bulbs having a conventional medium-voltage (MV) or high-voltage (HV) standard cap. They are even mandatory in the case of screw caps for safety reasons. Serving, frequently, as connecting part between the lamp and outer bulb, on the one hand, and the standard cap, on the other hand, is a ceramic part into which the lamp and outer bulb are cemented. Fastening the ceramic part to the standard cap is likewise performed, as a rule, by cementing, bonding or crimping. To eliminate the risk of bulb explosion at the end of the service life, one to two fuses are connected between the supply lead and cap contacts. The halogen incandescent lamp is thereby of the same external configuration as a conventional incandescent lamp for this voltage range (at least 80 V; typical values for MV are 100 to 120 V, and for HV 220 to 250 V), and is also essentially exactly the same size. The reason for this is the safety requirements (shock protection in the corresponding voltage range; anti-explosion protection) and the stipulations, owing to the widespread luminaires, with respect to the standard cap, as well as the requirement for exchangeability between the conventional lamp and halogen incandescent lamps. HV/MV lamps are significantly more expensive both by comparison with the corresponding conventional incandescent lamps and by comparison with LV halogen incandescent lamps having a transformer, because of these design features. Their market share has therefore so far been relatively low. On the other hand, there have not so far been any compact high-voltage/medium-voltage halogen incandescent lamps at all on the market.